New job

I normally like the nomadic nature of my dying industry, in that in provides me with a built-in opportunity to try new things and develop my skills, but I can't deny that there isn't a fair amount of nervousness to be had as one contract runs out and I don't know where and when the next one begins.

After a diligent month of letter-bombing the city with my resume and mining every contact I have that isn't nailed down, it seems I've once again managed to land on my feet, and secure another year of gainful employment. I'm particularly excited about the fact that for the first time, I'm getting away from the dead-tree medium and moving exclusively into the world of online journalism. (There's a distant, distant chance this might turn into an opportunity to blog about finance/investing and get paid for it, but that's very nebulous at this point...)

Besides the duties (which I'm quite excited about) my new job has the added bonus of coming with a not insignificant raise from what I've been earning so far -- to the tune of about 17%, before taxes. As my cousin Jacques might say, "ne pas too shabby."

I'm a big believer in the principle that good financial habits can build into big things over time, and as such, I've been able to build a decent little nest egg over the last few years, without really sacrificing too much of the fun that life has to offer. Currently, as soon as my paycheque comes in, about 25% of my gross salary goes directly into my PC Financial high interest savings account, which functions as a sort of catch-all account until I divert it into other things (RRSPs, Visa bills, big purchases, or whatever.)

It's a system that's worked quite well for me so far, so the obvious answer to the question of what to do with these new funds might be to increase the amount I divert into that account. But I have a different idea.

I think I'm going to keep my PC account as a legitimate long-term savings and investing fund, and open another high-interest savings account (or possibly just dust the cobwebs off of my fallow ING Direct account -- I haven't checked if their rates have gotten any more competitive) to be my designated "fun" account.

I think putting that psychological barrier between the accounts will be a good thing. The new account will be the one I dip into for the vacations, gifts and *cough* plasma televisions I'm thinking about getting over the next 12 months.

At any rate, big things and good news in GIV-land. 

For the time being :)

I'm in a rut

I'm in a bit of a professional rut. Thanks to the temporary nature of employment in the dead-tree medium, I changed jobs two months ago and I must admit, I haven't quite settled in yet. Part of it stems from the fact that I never wanted my last job to end. I enjoyed the work and my colleagues, so was left with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth for how it all ended -- with me not being given a full-time position after being assured for more than a year that it would all work out.

So, much like the romantic who's reluctant to open up his heart again, I've been remaining purposefully guarded at my new job, for fear of becoming attached to a positive situation because I'm convinced it's going to be snatched away from me at some point. I hesitate to say I've been "mailing it in" because I've been applying myself, but that sort of emotional detachment from work can't be good for long-term career advancement.

I've also found myself missing writing quite a bit. When I launched this blog, I didn't really see it as an opportunity to write, since I had a job where my everyday duties consisted of writing. But lately, my subsequent jobs have tended toward the editing side, and I'm increasingly finding this little corner of the Interwebs to be my only writing outlet. And no offense to the blogosphere, but that's just not going to cut it. I went into the media because it was the closest thing I could think of to having someone pay me to read newspapers all day, and it was one of the few gigs that involved writing in a meaningful way. I still freelance enough to keep the juices flowing, but I'm starting to miss doing it everyday. I worry I've sold myself short for the relative stability of something more buttoned down.

I guess this is all a convoluted way of saying I'm looking (passively, at this point) for a change. Maybe all I need is more responsibility at my current gig. Maybe finding new ways to keep myself engaged outside my 9-to-5 is called for. Maybe something more drastic -- I hear Australia's lovely, and I bet I'd be quite content working at this old rag.

Couple that with talk of scary adult stuff like mortgages and marriage, and part of me wants to screw it all, turn my condo downpayment into a travel fund and go on an adventure somewhere. But I'm sure it'll pass.

It usually does.